Vamos Los Pibes: Ecuador’s Under-20 Champions

Following on from Argentina, Uruguay and Venezuela, we look at the recently crowned Under-20 Sudamericano champions Ecuador in the next installment of the series analysing the top South American talents born after 2000.

Not traditionally one of the continent’s powerhouses, Ecuador have steadily improved over the last two decades, going from whipping boys to qualifying for three of the last five World Cups. Last month they wrote a new chapter in their history by winning the Under-20 Sudamericano for the first time, hinting that there may yet be more to come from El Tricolor.

To casual observers, Ecuador’s victory might come as a shock, but anyone who had watched Jorge Celico’s side over the previous three weeks will have had no doubt that the Mini-Tri were the best team on display. One of the few attack-minded squads in a tournament dominated by defences, Ecuador won six out of nine games, scored more than anyone else and generally were deserved champions.

There were impressive performers all over the field and, as well as those analysed below, a few of those born in 1999 deserve a mention. Jose Cifuentes was arguably the best midfielder on show in Chile and brought a coolness and calm to his box-to-box midfield exploits, while also displaying an excellent range of passing. Athletic left-back Diego Palacios was one of the best left-backs of the tournament and versatile, pacey wide forward Alexander Alvarado had a habit of cropping up in good goalscoring positions.

Here we look in more depth at a few more of the star players, all of whom born this millennium, and could well go on to inspire a new generation of Ecuadorian football.

Jordan Rezabala

One of the Ecuadorian players who arrived at the tournament with more of a reputation, Rezabala did not disappoint with his creative wizardry in the number 10 role. Despite not having made his senior debut for Independiente del Valle, the diminutive attacking midfielder impressed in the Under-20 Libertadores last year and impressed for the national team previously at under-17 level, attracting the interest of Dutch giants PSV and Ajax.

At the Sudamericano, Rezabala set the tone early with a brace in their opening 3-0 victory against Paraguay and another strike against Peru. As well as chipping in with a few goals, Rezabala demonstrated his dribbling, great passing ability and set-piece delivery throughout the tournament.

While at his best when finding space between the lines, Rezabala has the versatility to drift into wide positions and, fittingly of someone whose middle name is Lenin, showed plenty of commitment to the collective cause, tracking back and pressing when necessary.